Aqua's Darkness
by DJNetwork
Summary: As we know, Aqua was the least likely in Kingdom Hearts to fall to darkness. But no one is completely immune. Soon, darkness will enter Aqua's heart. And the story of Birth by Sleep will take a different turn.
1. The Corruption Begins

It was a bright, clear day in the Land of Departure. Under most circumstances, Aqua, the blue-haired woman recently named Keyblade Master, would either be training with Terra and Ven, or she would be reading.

Considering recent events, though, that wasn't going to happen.

Something had happened during the Mark of Mastery exam. The orbs of light they needed to attack had suddenly been tainted with darkness. Then Master Eraqus had said Terra's heart was wandering close to darkness. Sometime after that, the bells had rung and both he and Aqua were tasked with going to other worlds to battle a threat called the Unversed. Though Eraqus said that if Terra's heart fell to darkness, Aqua was to bring him back immediatly. To their surprise, Ven had run off as well, despite Master Eraqus saying not to. So Aqua was asked to retrive him. So she was just about to leave.

"Master Aqua, a word?" A voice behind her said.

Turning, Aqua came face-to-face with Master Xehanort. Aqua was rather surprised that he hadn't left yet. Every time Aqua looked at him, she felt a little uneasy. She couldn't quite place why, he just sent a shiver up her spine. She also didn't understand why he was here. Master Eraqus said that he couldn't contact Xehanort, and Terra said he was going to look for him, so how did they not realize he was still here?

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"I'm... concerned for Terra." Xehanort replied. "Eraqus is correct. Terra has allowed darkness into his heart."

Aqua frowned. Master Xehanort didn't have to remind her. She was there when Eraqus said that.

"I fear that the darkness may try to overtake the light in his heart. We can't let that happen." Xehanort said.

Aqua nodded. "I'm sure Terra will find a way." She said. "He, Ven, and I-"

"I'm concerned for Ventus too." Xehanort interrupted. "He is an impulsive one. I should know. He tends to not think things through. The darkness would love to take such a young, naive heart."

Aqua frowned. "That's not good. What can we do?" She asked.

"I'm afraid there is another matter I must attend too." Xehanort replied. "But I know that, as a Keyblade Master, you will be able to help them in that matter. After all, isn't it a Keyblade Masters duty to protect the weak?"

"Weak?" Aqua asked. "Terra and Ven are strong too."

"True, true." Xehanort said. "But still, they haven't reached your level. You are all strong, but as a Keyblade Master, you're still ahead of them. But I'm sure someday they'll reach your level."

Aqua looked at Xehanort confused. Why would he say something like that? All three of them were powerful. Ven could attack faster then any of them. And no one matched Terra in strength. But, was that not enough? Did being a Keyblade Master make her... better then them?

"Shouldn't you be off?" Xehanort said, pulling Aqua out of her thoughts.

"Oh, right." Aqua said. She then activated her Armor and Glider, and started off for the nearest world.

Xehanort watched her leave with a twisted grin. Everything was going according to plan. Now Aqua had the idea that she was more powerful then Ven or Terra planted in her head. It would continue to grow, corrupting her heart. If his plan with Terra failed, then Aqua would do as well.

With a small laugh, he opened a dark portal and walked through, ready to begin the next phase.

* * *

The first world Aqua arrived at landed her inside a lavish castle. From the looks of it, there had been a ball of some sort. Aqua was just entering when a woman in a dress ran by, followed by what looked like a Duke with a glass shoe. Before she could follow, she heard a voice call her name. Looking up, it was Terra!

Terra raced down the stairs to see Aqua. "Terra, Ven ran away from home. I think he's looking for you." She said.

"What? That's bad. I'll look for him." Terra said.

"Terra, before I left-" Aqua started to say. However, Terra cut her off.

"I've found out Xehanort's looking for hearts of pure light." Terra explained. "Why, I'm not sure yet."

"How did you find this out?" Aqua asked.

"In another world, a princesses heart was stolen. An evil fairy told me Xehanort wanted it because it was pure light, like others."

"Do you know who these others are?" Aqua asked. She frowned when Terra shook his head. 'Great. A lot of help you are.' Aqua thought. Then she shook her head. 'Wait, why did I think that?'

"You OK, Aqua?" Terra asked.

Aqua looked at Terra. "Oh, yeah." She said. "I'm going to look for more clues here."

Terra nodded. "Check with the prince in the ballroom." He said, then started to leave. However, he stopped. "Do you still have the same dream?"

Aqua tilted her head in confusion. "Yes, but why is this important now?" She asked.

"There's a girl here named Cinderella. She showed me that it's important to keep believing. No matter how bad things get, a powerful dream can still light the darkness." Terra said. On that, he walked off.

Aqua stood there confused for a few seconds. "Dreams... lighting darkness?" She asked herself. Then, she did something unexpected: she started to giggle. "That's it? That's his big revelation? That's silly. If he's thinking like that, he'll never-" Then she caught herself. "Wait, what am I saying? That isn't silly. What's wrong with me today?"

Then she looked up at where Terra was. "Maybe I should speak with the prince. Could take my mind off... my mind." She said to herself.

* * *

Aqua's search for clues did not end very well. First, she checked the ballroom Terra had come from, and learned about the girl, but not before encountering three woman she felt had darkness. After this, she started off for the nearest house.

However, when she reached the clearing, she encountered a number of Unversed. They were much smaller then she expected (excluding one big purple Unversed). Summoning Rainfell, she engaged the Unversed. The battle ended faster then she expected, with the Unversed attacks being basic.

"These are the Unversed? Those tiny little things and big purple idiots?" She asked herself. "They didn't stand a chance against me. If it's all like this, I'll be home in no time." With that, she dispelled Rainfell and continued to the house, unaware of how arrogant she sounded.

Upon reaching the house, she learned it belonged to the women she saw earlier. Resummoning Rainfell, she prepared to confront them, only for another woman in blue to appear behind her.

"Wait, you can't fight darkness with light." The woman said. "It's dangerous."

Aqua stared at the woman like she was crazy. "Really?" She asked. "And you are?"

"A Fairy Godmother." The woman answered. "Listen, I know you want to help. Those women in there have succumbed to jealousy. However, you can't go in there and attack their darkness with light. One must not overtake the other."

Aqua was now a little intrigued. "Ok, the how do you propose I help?"

* * *

This was not how Aqua had thought things would go.

First, she was shrunk to mouse size to help a talking mouse named Jaq free Cinderella. Then she grew back near the step-mother and step-sisters, but thankfully Cinderella showed up in time. The slipper fit Cinderella, and she went off to see the prince, only for a coach Unversed to attack. Aqua defeated it, but not before it killed the step-family.

Now she was watching the prince and Cinderella embrace from a distance. Just then, the Fairy Godmother appeared behind her.

"See?" The Fairy Godmother said. "Things worked out in the end. Cinderella got her happy ending."

"Yeah, and all it took was three women dying for that to happen." Aqua replied, upset. "If you hadn't told me to help Jaq-"

"You might have hurt them." The Fairy Godmother replied.

"I wasn't going too!" Aqua said, now angry. "I was just going to question them. If you had let me just go in, they might still be alive!"

"Then why did you summon your weapon?" The Fairy Godmother asked.

That made Aqua hit a mental brick wall. Why did she do that? She only wanted to question them. Didn't she? "I... I need to go." She said. On that, she got up to leave.

"The creature was made from their jealousy. It might have appeared regardless of if you confronted them." The Godmother said. "You're letting the darkness in your heart blind you."

Aqua stopped. "What did you say?" She asked.

"You are a kind young woman, I can tell." The Godmother answered. "But I can sense darkness growing in you. Perhaps you should-"

"You're wrong." Aqua interrupted. "I can't have darkness. My master-" She stopped herself. "I'm leaving." On that, she left.

The Fairy Godmother watched her go. "Poor girl." She thought. "I hope she'll be ok."

'She's wrong.' Aqua thought as she travelled through the Lanes Between. 'I took Master Eraqus's training seriously. There can't be darkness in my heart. But my reaction to Terra's comment, and how I treated that fairy. Do I have darkness in me?'

Her train of thought was interrupted when she saw another world.

'I should land.' She thought. 'It might clear my head.' On that, she headed for the world.


	2. Mirror, Mirror

Aqua had to admit: looking at the world from her Glider, it seemed rather pretty, but when she landed, she found it was actually gorgeous. Such a beautiful forest. As she finally touched down, she saw that there was a cottage up ahead. So, she decided to see if she could ask where she was.

When she got to the cottage, however, she came across a rather sad scene. There were seven little men in front of the cottage, all gathered around what looked like a glass coffin. Inside the coffin was a young woman.

Almost moved to tears by this somber scene, Aqua walked up to who she assumed was the leader of the little men.

"What has happened here?" Aqua asked gently.

The seven little men started talking about all the wonderful things the girl in the coffin, apparently named Snow White, did, like tell stories and sing songs. Aqua was upset that someone so kind was in this situation, but for some reason, she also felt... annoyed. She asked what happened, but she wasn't getting a straight answer. Finally, the men stopped talking about how nice she was.

"She sounds like a wonderful person." Aqua said. "But, that didn't really answer my question. How did this happen?"

"The Queen." The leader of the little men said. "She poisoned Snow White with an apple."

"And how do you know it was the Queen?" Aqua asked.

"She was jealous of Snow Whites beauty." One of the other men said.

"Alright." Aqua said. "I'll see if I can help."

"The castle is through the forest. You won't miss it." One of the little men said.

Aqua thanked them and started for the forest. As she walked away, a voice in the back of her head was grateful to be away from them.

* * *

After a little bit, Aqua finally made it to the castle. She had to fight her way through a few Unversed along the way. They were some of the smaller Unversed, plus a few of the big guys, and rabbit-like enemies that made Aqua want to scream in rage. She could still feel her blood boiling as she had wasted most of her potions trying to fight the things.

Once she finally reached the castle, she was in a small courtyard. Nearby was a well, and standing near it looking in was a young man. Based on his clothes, Aqua assumed he was a prince. She walked up to him. The prince turned to look at her.

"Is something wrong?" Aqua asked.

"This castle. It's different somehow." The young prince replied. "And I can't find the princess-"

"Wait, princess?" Aqua cut him off. "You know Snow White?"

"Yes." The prince answered, not realizing he'd be cut off. "We were drawn together by a song..."

Whatever the prince said after, Aqua didn't pay attention. She was hung up on the song bit.

'A song?' Aqua thought. 'They were brought together... by a song? First the men in the cottage don't give me a straight answer, now I get a stupid answer? This day just- Wait, stupid? What am I saying? What is-'

"Miss?" The prince asked.

Aqua shook her head. "I'm sorry, I just had a... distracting thought. Did you say something?" She replied.

"I asked if Snow White was alright." The prince said.

"I'm afraid not." Aqua said. "She was tricked into eating a poisoned apple."

"I must go to her!" The prince declared. "Where is she?"

"In the woods, being guarded by seven kind men" Aqua said. Then, under her breath, she muttered: 'but kind of annoying.'

"I will find her. Perhaps I can help." The prince said, having not heard that last part. Then he ran off into the woods.

Aqua wanted to smile at this bravery, but couldn't bring herself to. She couldn't figure out what was wrong with her today. She was feeling like a jerk. Mentally insulting the prince. Annoyance with the little men. Was the Godmother right? Was there darkness? Aqua was usually so nice and empathetic, but now...

Aqua shook her head. She needed to focus. Right now, she needed to find the queen. She raced into the castle.

* * *

After fighting her way through the castle, Aqua made her way to what she initially had assumed was the throne room. It was completely empty, save for a giant mirror surrounded by Zodiac signs.

"Nothing?" Aqua asked herself. "I came here to find nothing? I don't believe this!"

Aqua was pissed. All this trouble, for a mirror? She was about to leave in annoyance, when a flicker from the mirror caught her attention. Walking up to it, she stared at the mirror in confusion. Suddenly, it sprang to life! In the mirror, flames appeared, along with a blank face. Before Aqua could react, the mirror flashed.

When Aqua's vision cleared, she was in a bizarre, mirror like void. In front of her was the face from before, now giant. Summoning her Keyblade, she prepared for a fight.

"A key in hand, what luck I say. You are the second one I have fought today." The face said.

"Second? Who else was here?" Aqua asked.

"Terra was his name, brave and smart. The Queen asked him to steal Snow Whites heart." The face explained.

Aqua was stunned. Terra... steal a heart? She felt upset, confused... and angry. "You're lying!" She yelled. "Terra would never do that!"

"I am afraid, my dear, what I speak is quite true. There was darkness in him, as I sense in you." The face said.

Now Aquas blood was boiling. For the second time today, someone told her she had darkness in her. But that couldn't be true. ...could it?

"Stop talking." Aqua growled. "There isn't darkness in me!"

"Oh, but my dear, it exists, it does. But you darkness might be stronger then Terra's was."

That was the breaking point, and Aqua screamed. She lunged at the face, and began swinging her Keyblade. The face sank into the floor, and appeared a ways away, along with several copies. The faces began firing fireballs and Aqua. She dodged them, and began attacking each face wildly. Eventually, she hit the real one, and it fell to the floor. She began wailing on the face in anger. The face, however, suddenly came to and flew up, raining fireballs on her. Dodging, she tried using magic, but the face was too fast.

The battle continued in this fashion, with Aqua attacking like mad, and the face trying to blindside her. Eventually, she managed to wear it down enough. It floated in front of her, its energy spent. Aqua prepared her Keyblade for one final strike. As she rushed to the face, the Keyblade became enveloped in a dark aura. Not seeing it, Aqua swung her Keyblade right at the faces forehead. There was a flash.

Suddenly, Aqua was spit out into the mirror chamber again. Getting up and dispelling her Keyblade, she turned to the mirror. The face appeared in it.

"The Queen is gone, my service done. Adieu, o victorious one." It said, before vanishing.

Aqua looked over at the mirror for a moment, before leaving the chamber, blood still boiling.

* * *

A few minutes later, back at the cabin, Aqua watched as the prince walked up to the sleeping Snow White, and kissed her. Slowly, Snow White woke up. The prince and the Dwarves were overjoyed. The Dwarves ran up to hug her.

But Aqua was barely paying attention. She was replying the battle with the face in her mind. Some of it was a blur, but she remembered the rage she felt. Her wild, vicious attacks. The face saying she had darkness...

"Miss?" A voice said, snapping Aqua out of her thoughts. Looking, she saw Snow White and the prince staring at her.

"Sorry, did you say something?" Aqua asked.

"I wanted to thank you, for letting me know what befell Snow White." The prince said.

"If it wasn't for you, I may have slept for eternity." Snow White said.

Aqua nodded. "You're welcome." She said. "Now, I'm sorry, but I need to go." With that, she ran off into the forest.

"What an kind woman." The prince said.

"Yes, but something's strange about her." Snow White said. "She seemed distracted. And I've never met anyone with golden eyes."

* * *

In the Lanes Between, Aqua was trying to make sense of the mirror's words. That was the second time today someone claimed she had darkness in her heart. That can't be right. But, she let her rage get the better of her in the fight with the mirror.

Now worried and angry, she headed for the next world.


	3. The Mistress of All Evil

In the Lanes Between, Aqua finally saw the next world, and was quite surprised. The world seemed to be split in two. The top half was bright and cheerful, with a gorgeous castle. The bottom half, however, was dark and gothic, with a crumbling castle and a forest of thorns.

Aqua looked at the world, and found herself drawn more to the dark half. She found its twisted, gothic nature to be beautiful in its own right. Though she felt the castle could use some touching up. She decided that was where she would land.

* * *

Landing, Aqua found herself outside the darker castle, on the edge of a natural stone bridge. Dispelling her armor, she began to walk up the castle. She only just got under the stone arch when a ball of light zipped out of the castle and through the path behind her.

"Wait, was that... a heart?" Aqua asked herself. "Was it trapped in that castle? If so, who freed it?" She pursed her lips in thought. "Maybe I should investigate."

On that, she turned and ran up the stone bridge into the castle. She didn't have a moment to lose.

Inside the castle, she saw the place was in worse shape then she thought. She was actually surprised it hadn't completely fallen apart. She headed forward, but saw what she assumed where guards. They were much shorter then her, and were upright pigs and vultures with spears and bows.

'This shouldn't be too hard.' Aqua thought as she summoned her Keyblade. The guards saw her and ran up, prepared to attack. But Aqua was too fast for them. She managed to fell them in just a few swings of her Keyblade, upon which they vanished in green flame.

Grinning at her victory, she headed forward, cutting down more guards as she progressed. She almost pitied them. They were so much weaker then her, yet they still tried to fight.

As she entered a hallway, she heard voices talking. Well, more like arguing. She listened closely.

"Terra would never hurt somebody like that!"

Her eyes widened as recognized the voice. It was Ventus! Aqua raced into the next room, a throne room, and saw what was happening.

Ventus was standing in the middle of the room, talking to another figure near the throne. The figure was a woman with green skin, a massive black robe, a horned headdress, and a staff with a green orb.

"You don't believe me?" The woman said. "How unfortunate, for he agreed so easily."

Aqua couldn't believe it. What did Terra agree too? Did he... did he take that heart she saw?

Aqua shook the thought out of her head and raced up to Ven. "Don't listen to her!" She called out. Ven looked up at Aqua as she reached him.

"Whatever she said Terra did, it can't be true." Aqua said. "You know that as well as I do."

Ven looked up at her, and was about to say something, but stopped when he saw Aqua's now golden eyes. His faced turned to confusion.

"Ah, the truth can be most cruel." The woman said. "Even amongst the closest of friends. After all, one can never truly know the secrets of anothers heart."

Aqua growled at the woman. "Shut up! Terra is a kind person! He would never hurt anyone!"

"My, such a fire in you." The woman replied. "And I sense such a darkness too."

Once again, Aqua's blood began to boil. First the Fairy Godmother, then the mirror, now this woman? Who else would accuse her of having darkness? Aqua calmed down and ignored the woman, turning to Ven.

"The Master sent me." Aqua said. "Ven, let's-"

"Aqua, what happened to your eyes?" Ven asked.

Aqua looked at him like he had gone mad. "My eyes?" She asked. "What's wrong with them?"

"They're gold now." Ven answered.

'Gold?' Aqua thought. 'Why gold? And how did they change?'

Shaking the thought from her head, she looked at Ven. "Let's go home." She said.

"But, Terra..." Ven began.

"I don't think he's ready to leave." Aqua said. "If he's even still here."

Ven frowned. "I'm not going home Aqua, not until I find Terra." He said. Then he turned and ran off. Aqua began to follow him.

"Poor young boy. So naive. He truly is blind to the truth of hearts." The woman said.

Aqua stopped and turned to her. "What did you tell him?" She demanded.

The woman chuckled. "Your friend, Terra? I asked him to remove dear Princess Aurora's heart... and he did so quite easily." She said. "I must say, the powers of the Keyblade are fascinating."

Aqua's blood started boiling again. "You're lying!" She yelled. "A Keyblade wielder would NEVER agree to that! Our hearts are-" She stopped when something the woman said finally sunk in. "Wait, how do you know about the Keyblades? Who are you?"

The woman once again chuckled. "I am Maleficent. I was told of the Keyblades by the one named Xehanort." She said.

Aqua's eyes widened. Xehanort had been here?

"Why was Xehanort here?" Aqua demanded. "Why did he tell you about the Keyblades?"

"He didn't say what he was after, but he did say your dear friend Terra would assist me in collecting Princess Aurora's heart. And he did." Maleficent said. "Now, my dear, would you like to assist me?"

Aqua's eye twitched. This was insulting. This woman just admited to stealing a heart, and was NOW expecting HER to help?

Reaching her breaking point, Aqua summoned Rainfell, and lunged at Maleficent. However, the woman turned into green fire and vanished. Aqua scanned the room, looking for her target.

"My my, such a temper." Maleficent's voice rang out all around her. "Surprising from one radiating such light. Still, the darkness in you may well quell it."

"You tell me you had Terra steal a heart, taunted my friend, accused me of having darkness, and you have the NERVE to ask me to ASSIST YOU?!" Aqua practically snarled as she scanned the room. "Do you think I'm stupid?! I am a Keyblade Master! I AM NOT AS GULLIBLE AS TERRA!"

Screaming in rage, Aqua let loose a barrage of Fire's all over the room. She was so blinded by her anger she didn't see the fireballs were tainted with darkness.

At this point, Aqua wasn't even thinking. She was just spamming Fire all over the room in a blind attempt to burn Maleficent. All she wanted now was to make this person suffer.

In fact, at this point, she wanted a number of people to suffer. The Fairy Godmother, the Magic Mirror, this twisted woman... All of them accused her of having darkness. She was a Keyblade Master. A Hero of Light! How dare they-

Something in Aqua's head finally clicked, and she stopped her barrage. Dispelling Rainfell, she fell to her knees. Looking around, she saw that the throne room was scorched now.

'What am I doing?' Aqua thought, worry replacing her rage. 'Where did this rage come from? What's wrong with me?'

"Such violence! Such rage! Such darkness!" Maleficent said, appearing behind Aqua. "You would make a fine apprentice to me!"

Aqua said nothing. Getting up, she ran from the throne room, not caring where she went. As Maleficent watched her leave, she smirked.

* * *

After just a few minutes of running, Aqua finally came to stop in front of a wooden door at the bottom of a flight of stairs. Aqua placed her back to the opposite wall, and ran her hands through her hair in worry.

'What was that?' She thought to herself. 'I... I've never been that angry before.' Tears began to form in her eyes. 'What's happening to me? Is... is there truly darkness in me?'

Enraged, she walked up to the door, and punched it. She wasn't completely sure what to think at this point. She was pulled from her thoughts, however, when a voice suddenly spoke up from the other side of the door.

"Hello? Is there someone out there?" The voice asked.

Confused, Aqua tried the door, and discovered it wasn't even locked. Opening it, she entered the room.

It was a small dungeon, almost completely bare. A stone bench was all that was in there. Chained up to the back wall and sitting on said bench was a young man in somewhat regal clothing. Aqua guessed he was a prince of some sort, or at least high up in royalty. Near him were a sword and shield.

The man looked up at Aqua and smiled.

"Hello, miss." The man said. "Are you here to free me?"

"That depends." Aqua replied. "What were you locked up for? Some sort of crime?"

"Oh, nothing of the sort." The man said. "My name is Phillip. Maleficent placed me in here to keep me from breaking her evil curse. I was to meet the most beautiful girl at a cottage in the glen, but now she is in an eternal slumber. And only I can break the spell." Phillip then noticed something about Aqua. "You seem troubled."

Aqua frowned, and sat on the bench next to Phillip. She placed her head in her hands.

"All my life, I've trained to keep the darkness away. I'm supposed to be a champion of light." Aqua said. "But... recently, I've been acting awful. Frustrated, angry, hateful. I think darkness is invading my heart. Everyone kept accusing me of having darkness in my heart, now... I'm starting to believe them." She then chuckled a little. "Don't know why I'm telling a stranger. Guess I just need someone to vent to."

Phillip frowned. "It sounds like Maleficent is playing with your heart." He said. "She attempted to break my spirit, claimed I would never free Aurora from her curse."

Aqua's head snapped up. "Aurora!?" She yelled. "Maleficent said my friend Terra into stole the heart of a princess named Aurora! That witch!"

Phillip was shocked, then his head fell. "No... Aurora..." He said dejectedly.

Aqua stood up, and summoned Rainfell. Aiming it at the shackles, she fired a beam from it. The shackles opened, and Phillip stood up, surprised.

"I saw a heart fly from this castle. It must have been Aurora's." Aqua said. "Come on, Phillip. You've got a princess to save."

Phillip nodded, and, grabbing his sword and shield, the two of them left the dungeon... only to see three flying elderly women outside the door. They wore red, blue, and green dresses. Phillip smiled when he saw them, and explained everything.

"We must hurry then! Aurora is waiting!" The woman in red exclaimed. "But the road to true love may be barred by many more dangers that you alone must face."

"I'm coming with you." Aqua said. "There's something I need to confirm. And Maleficent's going to tell me... whether or not she wants to."

* * *

Escaping Maleficent's castle proved to be simpler then Aqua was expecting. There were almost no Unversed at all. The only goons Aqua did see were the pig and vulture minions. Maleficent herself was nowhere to be found. It got to the point Aqua was actually getting bored.

Aqua, Phillip, and the three women (whom Aqua learned were fairies named Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather) managed to escape the castle and were now in a glen. Up ahead was the white castle Aqua saw from the Lanes Between. The sun was gleaming off of it, and it actually made her eyes hurt a little.

"My guess is Aurora is in there?" Aqua asked Phillip.

"Yes. That castle belongs to her family." Phillip answered. "But Maleficent might not be far behind."

"Good." Aqua said, a grin on her face. "She might actually be a challenge. And I'm not leaving without those answers."

"You seem quite angry." The fairy in green, Fauna, asked.

"Maleficent took Aurora's heart. And she may have manipulated one of my friends into doing so." Aqua said. Her hands clenched into fists and started shaking. "And she taunted another friend. And she had the NERVE to ask ME to help her! As a Keyblade Master, I will NOT stand for this. I'm going to make her PAY!"

"Miss, your right arm!" Phillip said, somewhat surprised.

Confused, Aqua raised her right arm to look at it. To her shock, it was partially coated in darkness.

'WHAT?!' Aqua mentally screamed. 'No... no, it can't be. How could I let this happen? All my training... was it a waste?'

Completely horrified at the sight, Aqua slumped against a nearby rock wall and sat down. This couldn't be happening. She had spent her whole life training to fight the darkness, to be a true warrior of light. And now...

'This... this can't be.' Aqua thought, tears starting to form. 'Everyone was right, I do have darkness in me. But how? I was always so careful. I did everything to keep the darkness away. So what- XEHANORT! Those things he said to me! They must have caused cracks in my heart!' Aqua's sadness gave way to anger. 'How could he do this to me?! Why?! He'll pay for this! He'll-'

"The castle!" Prince Phillip yelled, breaking Aqua's train of thought. Turning, she saw that large, thorny vines begin to wind around the castle.

"We need to go, now!" Aqua said, rushing forward. Prince Phillip and the three fairies followed behind her.

As they ran, Aqua took a quick glance at her arm. The darkness had faded, but Aqua was still concerned.

* * *

By the time the small group finally reached the castle, the thorny vines had wrapped all around the bridge. However, Aqua and Phillip were able to cut through them with ease as they ran across the bridge.

Before they could reach the other side, however, green fire burst out of the ground in front of them. When it cleared, Maleficent was standing in its place.

Anger began to boil within Aqua as she stared at the witch. She was going to give Aqua answers now.

"Maleficent!" Aqua yelled. "You're going to tell me what Xehanort told you!"

Maleficent, however, just chuckled. "A pity you don't have Terra's gift of obedience. Had you joined me, I would have gladly told you. Now you are but an obstacle to be destroyed!" She yelled. The green orb on her staff began to glow, and she fired a massive green ball out of it at Aqua and Phillip.

Quickly, Aqua grabbed Phillip and, using an Aero spell, launched the two of them in the air. A blinding flash emanated as the ball exploded.

Maleficent watched as the light faded. She frowned as Aqua landed on the ground, unharmed. Aqua, for her part, just grinned.

"Hmph. Do not think that was my only attack. You will suffer as I-" Maleficent's rant stopped as she realized something. Why was Aqua grinning?

Aqua just kept on grinning as she pointed behind Maleficent. Turning, the witch saw Phillip race into the castle.

Maleficent turned back to Aqua, enraged. "How?!" She asked.

Now it was Aqua's turn to chuckle. "Aero is a rather useful spell. It can attack, launch, and cushion throws." She said, almost mocking. "Surprised a witch didn't think of that."

"You have made a grave mistake, child." Maleficent said. "Now you will see for yourself, ALL THE POWERS OF HELL!" With that declaration, a massive pillar of fire erupted around the witch.

Aqua had to shield her eyes to keep from being blinded by the glare of the flames. When they died down and she looked, Maleficent had transformed into a massive black-and-purple dragon.

"Oh." Aqua said, rather surprised. "This... aught to be fun!" She turned to look at the fairies, who were still behind her. "Go after Phillip. This is mine!" The fairies nodded and flew up and over the dragon and to the castle.

Summoning Rainfell, Aqua grinned and ran towards the dragon. She prepared a Blizzard spell and fired it, but the dragon breathed out green fire and melted the spell instantly. Aqua used this distraction to slide under the fire and jump at the dragon's chest, swinging Rainfell. It connected, leaving a large gash.

The dragon roared. It raised one of its front legs to smash Aqua, but she was able to see it and dodge to the side. This, however, stopped her from seeing the dragon's head, which managed to grab her and throw her across the bridge.

Aqua winced, and looked down to see some bite marks, not too deep but still enough to hurt. Quickly casting a Cure spell, she ran at the dragon and tried another Blizzard, but when it fired, she saw that it was coated in dark energy.

'No, please not now!' Aqua thought. The spell sped towards the dragon. It breathed fire again, but this time the spell was unaffected by it and struck the dragon in the gash, causing it to roar in pain.

'...ok, that was helpful.' Aqua thought, surprised. 'No, don't think that way. It's darkness. It will only harm.'

Shaking her head, Aqua charged at the dragon again, this time jumping as high as she could. Once she was close enough to the dragon's head, she started to spin, striking the dragon three times. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Rainfell was coated in dark energy.

'Again?' Aqua thought as she landed. But her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of roaring. Her eyes widened as she saw the dragon charging a massive green fireball. She barely had time to react before the dragon launched the fireball.

But, just as it closed in on her, Aqua felt a surge of energy rush through her. Her body became covered in a black and purple aura and her eyes started to glow slightly. Immediately, she slid, almost danced, as far to the side as possible, a trail of after-images behind her. The fireball flew past harmlessly.

'What?' Aqua thought, and looked down at her aura covered body. 'This power... it feels... incredible.' Almost instinctively, a name came to her mind. 'Shadow Dancer.' She turned to the dragon, and grinned wildly, her mind clouding and only thinking of one thing. 'This fight's over.'

Aqua begin racing towards the dragon, her feet seeming to glide on the ground like skates, the after-images still following. The dragon tried to breath more fire, but Aqua easily dodged it. She jumped up to the dragons head and swung Rainfell at it, the keyblade twirling like a baton. The dragon tried to bite at Aqua, but it couldn't seem to catch her, only ever getting an after-image.

Aqua then leapt over the dragon's head and landed on its back. She struck the beast's back with Rainfell began to skate down its back, dragging her keyblade and leaving a large gash. The dragon roared in pain and rage. Leaping off at the tail, Aqua then slid under the dragon, making sure to strike its stomach. She emerged from under the dragon and skated a ways forward.

'Alright. Time to end this.' Aqua thought. She held Rainfell forward and channeled dark energy into it. Then, she threw Rainfell up in the air. As it flew, she jumped up and, almost defying physics, pulled a mid-air backflip and kicked Rainfell's handle. It flew forward, and struck the dragon in the chest. Then, dark energy exploded from the gash.

The dragon roared in pain one last time, before vanishing in green fire. As it vanished, Rainfell clattered to the ground. The thorns surrounding the bridge vanished as well.

Aqua landed on the bridge as the dark aura faded from her. She was exhausted, but triumphant. Walking forward, she grabbed Rainfell from where it landed and smiled. She felt incredible. But that feeling soon turned to dread.

"I... I used darkness to fight." She said to herself. "I let it consume me. How could I do that? And... it felt good." Dread turned to anger. "This isn't right. This isn't fair! I spent my whole life training with the light! I shouldn't have any darkness in me! But... Xehanort's words. They did something to me! They-"

Her ranting was interrupted by a flash of light from a window in the castle. Likely, that was Phillip waking Aurora. Then, she heard the sound of labored breathing. Turning, she was surprised to see Maleficent limping away from the castle.

'Wha- How did she-' Aqua thought, completely baffled. 'Never mind. She has answers I need.' With that, she marched up to Maleficent.

"So much for the powers of Hell." Aqua said. "Now, are you going to tell me what Xehanort told you?"

Maleficent turned and glared at her. "All that dark power..." She said. "And you waste it to help a princess? Such a foolish use for it, when you could do so much more. If you had taken my offer, you could-" She was interrupted by Aqua pointing Rainfell at her.

"Answer. My. Question." Aqua said.

Maleficent sighed. "The old man is after seven hearts of pure light. For what reason, he did not say. He did mention a Keyblade War." She said.

'Keyblade War?' Aqua thought. 'Master Eraqus mentioned that a few time.' She dispelled Rainfell. "Where did Xehanort go?" She asked.

"He mentioned a place called Radiant Garden." Maleficent said.

Aqua smiled. "That's all I needed. Thanks." She said. On that, she summoned her Keyblade Glider, activated her armor, and flew off.

Maleficent watched her go, before summoning a dark portal and walking through.

* * *

In the Lanes Between, Aqua was making a beeline for Radiant Garden. She had only been there once before. But she was stopped by a voice suddenly coming from nowhere.

'Master Aqua!' The voice rang. It was all to familiar to Aqua.

"Master Xehanort?" She asked.

'I must speak with you at once! Come to the Badlands immediately.' Xehanort's voice said.

Aqua was hesitant, but this meant she could confront Xehanort on what he had done. So, she changed course and went for the Badlands.


End file.
